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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > July > 31
Friday, July 31, 2009
Review: ‘Sweeney Todd’ by Summer Stock Austin
Early in the musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Sweeney sings to the innocent sailor Anthony, “You are young. You will learn.”
Sweeney believes Anthony’s naivety will pass away with time, and he, too, will see the social depravity of their London home. The line rang a little different Thursday in the Long Center’s Rollins Theatre as Summer Stock Austin opened a week of performances.
Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney” is a difficult musical. It’s an almost sung-through opera and a dark comedy with complicated characters. Yet the local cast of high school and college students proved to be an able ensemble. They will learn more, but they have already learned a great deal.
Under the direction of Michael McKelvey, Summer Stock Austin is an annual affair, bringing together talented young actors for a month at St. Edwards University. (Zilker Theatre is a co-producer.) The group rehearses for three weeks, and then presents two shows. “Sweeney Todd” alternates with “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Rollins through Aug. 9.
Watching the show with the cast’s friends and families added warmth to Thursday night’s show. It was enjoyable to hear the clusters of audience members laugh as the cast member they came to see appeared with a fake beard or a wild wig. Many of “Sweeney’s” roles required the actors to play older characters. As Todd, Jacob Trussell captured the murderous barber’s entanglement of wrath and pain, especially in the show’s second half. Trussell also had a little Johnny Depp thrown in. Last year’s movie version of the musical definitely affected the production.
Kathleen Fletcher, performing as the hilarious Mrs. Lovett, best understood the range of the show’s emotions. She could move from cackle to sobriety within a single line of song. Fletcher also did an excellent job of blending movement and music. She drew tons of laughter from the audience with a fantastic rendering of the bemusing song “By the Sea.”
Lighting challenges often left the remainder of the cast in the dark — literally. Several other actors deserve note: as the couple in love (Anthony and Johanna), Ben Mayne and Mikayla Agrella, performed well, as did Nathan Brockett (Beadle), Reno Bostick (Toby), and Aaron Moten (Judge Turpin).
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Live Beethoven and ‘A Clockwork Orange’
Who thought live chamber music combined with movies would ever be the crowd-pleasing entertainment attraction that it is?
Well, it is. And PKWproductions’ ‘Music and a Movie’ series —led by Austin bassist and composer P. Kellach Waddle — is reviving one its most popular programs: A screening of Kubrick’s sci-fi cult classic ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and live music either by or inspired by Beethoven.
Why Beethoven?
Well the film’s teenage miscreant Alex DeLarge is fond of unbridled violence and Beethoven, particularly the Ninth Symphony. Waddle and his colleagues will play some rarely-heard Beethoven chamber works and premiere new Beethoven-inspired compositions by Waddle and composers Graham Reynold and Peter Stopschinski.
Music and a Movie: ‘A Clockwork Orange”
Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek, 13729 Research Blvd.
8 p.m. August 2
$15; www.alamodrafthouse.com
PRE-MOVIE CONCERT: ALL MUSIC BY LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Sonata in G for Bass and Piano (transcribed from the Sonata for French Horn and Piano) — First Movement: Allegro Moderato
Duo for Violin and Bass in D Major (transcribed from Duo for Flute and Bassoon): Allegro Commodo
Ah! Perfido! : Concert Aria for Soprano and Piano
INTERMISSION CONCERT
Piece on Beethoven theme by P. Stopchinski
Piece on Beethoven theme by G. Reynolds
Waddle’s Slumbering With Beethoven; Berceuse-Fanatsiesatz on Beethoven’s Klaviersonate in F Minor-2nd Movement for Violin, Cello, Bass and Piano
Waddle’s Fantasy-Aria-Distillation on Beethoven’s Piano Concerto #5 -2nd Movement for Cello and Bass
Musicians: Helen Bravenec, violin;Hector Moreno, cello; P. K. Waddle, bass; Nikki Birdsong, piano; Emily Breedlove, soprano
